You're Welcome
by adarkwolf
Summary: What happens when Cody gets fed up with the constant mockery over his new look? Will he let his insecurities get the best of him? Or will Damien be able to save his partner? Rhodes Scholars SLASH!


**Okay, so I noticed the extreme lack in Rhodes Scholars slash so I was upset and found it in myself to write my own one-shot for them! Please review and maybe I'll consider writing more for this pairing. Also, I listened to the song "Fix You" while writing this. The cover one by Boyce Avenue and Tyler Ward. Feel free to listen to that while you read the fic. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing! If I did, Cody and Damien would've had the titles by now XD**

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Damien stretched and yawned. He slowly crawled under his bed covers. His muscles instantly relaxed as he laid his body down on the mattress. Tonight had been an exhausting night. They were somewhere in Texas, performing a smackdown house show. The main event was Team Hell No versus Team Rhodes Scholars. They had lost, again. Lately, they've been on a losing streak. Though they were scheduled to win, the match hadn't gone exactly as planned. During the match, Cody was supposed to end it using his finisher on Daniel Bryan. However, when Cody was up, the crowd had started up yet another chant about the man's facial hair. It caused the young superstar to become distracted and execute his move horribly. He had landed wrong on his ankle. The crowd noticed this. There was no way Cody could come back after that. To keep up the appearance of the match being "real", Daniel had no choice but to take advantage of him. The crowd was happy with this and Team Hell No received a huge pop.

Damien had to carry his partner backstage. He didn't want Cody to have to leave on a stretcher or have doctors carry him out. He was already embarrassed enough. Once backstage, Vince had called them out, he wasn't happy. Damien had used his superior intellect to talk their way out of trouble. They left the venue early so Cody could rest. Nothing was broken, just terribly sprained.

Now here they were. Damien laid in bed while Cody was in his own. The younger was on his laptop, scowling at something. He's been acting really strange lately, but Damien shrugged it off. Whatever it was, if Cody wanted him to know, he would tell him. The intellectual savior had almost dozed off when suddenly the sound of Cody's laptop being slammed shut, echoed throughout the dark room. Damien sat up and blinked to adjust his eyes. He could make out his partner limping over to the bathroom. He entered the facility and slammed the door. The sound of the lock clicking in place could be heard. Damien leaned over and turned on the lamp on his nightstand. What was going on?

He shifted in his bed to look over at Cody's. The laptop was sitting innocently on the covers. He was surprised that it wasn't broken. Cody had closed it with much force. Just what was on that thing that mad him so upset? Though he didn't want to pry, Damien found himself sliding out of his bed, only to rest on the other one. He quietly pulled the laptop into his lap. Feeling a bit guilty, he hesitated with his hand over it. Did he really want to do this? Opting for another route, he picked the laptop off of him and sat it down. Standing up, he approached the bathroom door and knocked.

"Go away." said a quiet voice on the other side. Damien remained still.

"Cody, what's wrong?" he asked, his voice dripping with worry.

"Nothing! Just go away!" Cody yelled. Damien furrowed his brows in confusion. It wasn't like his partner to act like this.

"I just want to help!" He was extremely concerned for Cody. Usually he was always smiling and making jokes. What could've made him act this way?

"Don't! Leave me alone!" Okay, that was it. Cody left him with no other choice. If he wasn't going to tell him why he was upset, then he would just find out for himself. Though it may be bad, it could help him find out what was wrong with his friend. Then he'll be able to help him. Damien quickly resumed his earlier position on Cody's bed and opened the laptop. Thankfully, Cody didn't have a password set up. The other man hadn't closed out of his websites either. There was only one tab open on the internet and it happened to be Twitter. Now, he was really confused.

It looked like Cody had been going through his replies. Damien read over a few of them and he could not believe what he saw. The countless tweets all had mentions of his partner's facial hair. Some were about his wrestling abilities too. Scrolling down, Damien noticed that all these tweets had one thing in common. They were all negative. Not a single one of the responses held a positive comment towards the young man. Instead they were all jokes, mocking, and insults directed at Cody. No wonder the man was so upset. Sure everyone gets hate on the site every now and then. Damien had received a few himself, but never had he seen this many. They were all terrible too. He could feel a surge of anger beginning to course its way through him.

How dare these people say such cruel things! To his partner and best friend no less! Along with anger, he was also surprised and confused. Why were they making such a fuss about Cody's looks? His appearance had no effect on them. Why did they care?

Honestly, Damien thought Cody looked rather appealing with his new mustache. It made him look older and more mature. Still, Cody would always look outstanding to him. Hs features were so nice and the facial hair was surely no blemish. Like these people had any right to judge him! If their icons were anything to go by, Damien would suggest that they are merely jealous of Cody's good looks. In his eyes, they didn't even compare. Now he understood why Cody had stormed off. He must have let his insecurities get the best of him. If that's the case, then there is no way that Damien is just going to let him be. He quickly shut the laptop and rose from the bed. With a look of determination, he set off to the bathroom and knocked again.

"Cody, I know why you're upset, but don't listen to what those foul people have to say. They are all ignoramuses. If you would please open the door, I'd love to have a word with you." Shortly after the words left his lips, Cody replied.

"I don't care what you... what you have to say... Just go away!" Behind all the harsh words, Damien could sense the sadness lurking in Cody's voice. His command ended in a sniffle. Cody must be crying. The older man felt his heart twinge with hurt. The thought of Cody crying made him feel sad as well. It wasn't right for Cody to have to cry. He shouldn't be so upset. The comments from the fans were completely wrong. Damien was going to make his friend realize that. He jiggled the door handle, only to remember that it was locked. Sighing, the wrestler rested his forehead on the door. Speaking softly, he tried again.

"Cody, please, unlock the door. You're upset and I understand. I only want to make you feel better. What those people said were all just lies. Please realize that. They are not worth your tears..." Damien couldn't hide the sadness in his own voice. He was truly hurt. Cody sniffled again, but did not make a move to open the door. Suddenly, the sound of a battery powered razor could be heard throughout the silence. Damien's eyes widened, knowing what Cody was about to do. He stepped back away from the door and angled his shoulder just right. Using all his might, he used his body as a battering ram in an attempt to break down the door.

"Cody! Don't do this!" He yelled, not caring if the people next door could hear it. After a few moments, he managed to break through. His shoulder was red and sore, most likely going to be bruised tomorrow. Vince and the hotel employees certainly weren't going to be happy with their damaged door, but he didn't care. All that he cared about at that moment was Cody. His partner's eyes went wide at the intrusion. What Damien saw made his heart sink. There before him stood his best friend, eyes reddened at the rim, tears streaming down his face, hair shriveled in different directions. He was standing in front of the mirror with a razor aimed at his mustache. He had one hand on the sink, supporting the weight of his body that his sprained ankle couldn't handle. He was a mess.

"Please, Cody. Just stop..." Damien pleaded, nearly out of breath from barging in. Cody shook his head forcefully, causing him to fall off balance. His knees buckled and the razor clashed to the floor. The back broke off, sending batteries rolling across the tiles. This caught both wrestlers off guard. Luckily, Damien had quick reflexes and managed to catch the younger man in his arms. Cody was sobbing now, scared and hurt. Scooping him up, the savior carried his friend to his bed. Gently, he let Cody slide out of his arms. He took a seat next to him.

"It's alright, it's okay..." Damien whispered, bringing his hand up to rest on his partner's shoulder. Cody shook it off.

"No, it's not! Everything they said is true! I'm a disgrace!" His outburst caused Damien to pull back. He was alarmed. He'd never seen the other look so... broken before.

"Look at me..." Damien said. Cody refused. Sighing, the older wrestler brought his hand up to cup Cody's cheek. This shocked his friend, who had now turned to face him. Damien let his thumb slide down the smooth skin. This action caused Cody to blink in surprise. Stopping his tears for a moment.

"Those people were wrong, okay? They are only trying to bring you down. You can't let them win..."

"They already have..." Cody replied, dropping his head and his gaze, looking defeated.

"No, they didn't," He looked up in confusion. "You didn't stoop down to their levels. You didn't argue back. And this," Damien trailed a finger across Cody's upper lip. "This is still here. Don't get rid of it because of their words. Humanity is cruel sometimes. It shouldn't be, but it is. If you get rid of a part of yourself, then that is when they win. When they make you alter yourself to please them, that is when you've lost." Cody was left speechless by Damien's words. He sounded so down-to-earth and so... caring. It was unlike him to sound so casual. Normally, he spoke with large and formal words. He hadn't done that here, though he still had his grace about him. Cody knew that Damien had meant what he said. He wasn't putting on a mask to entertain others. He was doing this for him.

"That may be true... Though they are ugly in their words... perhaps, I'm just as ugly as them..." A stray tear began to flow down Cody's cheek at his response Damien used his thumb to catch it. The look that his partner sent him almost made him feel like crying himself. Cody looked so helpless. That was why Damien needed to be strong. He needed to push his own insecurities aside and really dig deep down. With a deep breath, he responded.

"No, you're not. You may think you are, but I think you're beautiful..." Now it was Damien's turn to drop his gaze. Cody, however, perked up at the confession.

"What?" his voice cracked at his question. Thinking it was now or never, Damien brought both of his hands up to either side of Cody's face, making the boy face him. He needed to hear this, and Damien needed to say it.

"You're beautiful to me. You always have been. Even before we were put together, you took my breath away. The truth is, no matter what you do or how you look, you'll always be dashing to me..." Cody blushed at this. He had no idea what to say or how to feel. A moment ago, he was thinking that he could never please anyone. Yet, Damien Sandow was now staring at him as if he's the greatest thing he's ever seen. He felt his heart clench. Someone actually cares for him. No one's ever looked at him like that before...

"Cody," Damien whispered, taking another deep breath. Here it goes...

"I love you." Cody gasped. Now Damien was the one blushing.

"Whether it be because you're my tag partner, or in a friendly way, or even romantically. Take it as you wish because they are all true. I really do love you." Cody bit his lip to keep from crying again. Without much hesitation or thought, the younger man found himself leaning forward. He nestled his fingers into the brown, curly locks before him. Pulling the other down, he brought their lips together. Both men felt their hearts soar. With their lips pressed flush against each others, they shared a passionate kiss. Damien felt himself let go as tears began to brim his eyes. He was so happy that Cody accepted him. When they finally pulled apart, Cody quickly embraced his partner. He buried his face into Damien's chest. Though the next words were muffled, the savior definitely did not miss them.

"I love you too, Damien."

He had no idea how long they had sat there, just holding onto each other. Could have been minutes or hours. It didn't matter, because both men were comfortable with their current position. He could have stayed there forever, just holding Cody in his arms. However, when Cody yawned, he knew that they'd have to rest. He carefully slid out of the other man's grasp. Cody whimpered in protest.

"Shh... it's okay. I'm not going anywhere." Damien stood up and moved Cody's laptop off of his bed. Then, he cradled Cody up in his arms. He placed the smaller man under the covers, then moved to go to his own bed. Suddenly, Cody's arm shot out and refrained him from leaving.

"Stay..." was all he said. Damien knew he couldn't refuse the offer. Within a few moments, he found himself lying down beside his friend. Cody wrapped his arm around Damien's waist, while Damien had his arm around Cody. The smaller man entwined his legs with the other. Switching the lamp off, the room was soon flooded in darkness.

"Thank you for everything..." whispered Cody. He placed a soft kiss to the smaller man's temple before responding.

"You're welcome..."


End file.
